Fifteen years ago, the State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services asked Trish Murray, R.D., M.Ed., L.D. to start a program to provide nutrition counseling services for families with special-needs children. And now, after two decades of working with children, it's still a labor of love.
"The most rewarding thing, that's hard to put into words," Trish said. "I don't feel like I 'fix' them. These kids give me more than I give them. There's just such a need. The parents who come into our program often feel like a complete failure because they can't feed their children. But when we can get a child on the right formula and gaining weight, that's such an accomplishment for all of us. The whole point of the program is to be a support for the family instead of another agency coming in to point out what's wrong."
Through this Title V program, a group of twelve dietitians and feeding specialists serve 1000 children throughout the state. The dietitians conduct home visits as well as going to schools and daycare centers to help caregivers provide the best nutrition support possible. The children have nutrition issues stemming from a variety of conditions including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, diabetes, autism, metabolic disorders and chronic illnesses. Physicians, schools and families can all refer a child to the program. Because of limited budget, the dietitians typically see a family twice throughout the year.
"It can be overwhelming when you go into the home because you see what the family is dealing with," she said. "It's not just the nutrition. The family may not have a car so there's transportation issues or the equipment they have is old and ineffective."
Trish often chooses Nestlé Nutrition products containing whey protein for the children she serves. For children with cerebral palsy, reflux and/or seizure disorders, she often uses PEPTAMEN JUNIOR®, which features 100 percent enzymatically hydrolyzed whey.
"It seems like when these kids hit about 6 to 8 years old, they don't tolerate full formula any more," she said. "Though they often can tolerate PEPTAMEN JUNIOR or PEPTAMEN VHP. It's also nice to have the prebiotics (available in products with PREBIO1™). We see a positive difference with the kids age 8 and up. Many of our kids are in daycare and on a lot of antibiotics. I like to provide them with products containing prebiotics to help balance their intestinal flora."
For children with reflux coming off of G-tubes, Trish often relies upon NESTLÉ® CARNATION® INSTANT BREAKFAST® to provide the nutrition they need while their ability to eat is limited. Some of these children are more familiar with juice than milk and NESTLÉ® CARNATION® INSTANT BREAKFAST® JUICE DRINK is an excellent option that also features the benefits of 100 percent whey protein. The kids also like that both options come in juice boxes, which helps them fit in at daycare and school. Trish also reports having good luck with NUTREN JUNIOR® for tube and oral feeding of children with cystic fibrosis.
Because no two children react to nutrition exactly alike, there's a lot of educated guesswork that goes into finding the right approach. Trish said it's not only the formulas but also the level of service that makes Nestlé a frequent choice.
"Nestlé offers a nice variety of whey products and they're very supportive," she said. "They work as a team with us when we need to try something new before making a full switch. It's nice to get that level of attention when your program is so stretched for resources."
Trish recently co-authored a chapter for the book Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Nutrition Handbook, which was published by the American Dietetic Association in 2004.